Highway through Newnes NSW

[one_iota]

For those of us in and around Sydney who use this country for 4wd fun this proposal could be interesting to follow:

RTA to investigate Newnes Plateau highway alternative - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/18/2307483.htm)

[Redback]

For those of us in and around Sydney who use this country for 4wd fun this proposal could be interesting to follow:

RTA to investigate Newnes Plateau highway alternative - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/18/2307483.htm)

What a bunch of halfwits, i suppose the great Western Hwy is OK then and doesn't need attention

[PhilipA]

Look it's very plain to me anyway LOL that one of the best developmental exercises that the NSW state government could do is a build an expressway up the Grose Valley from the M7 , then a tunnel through the ridge between the Grose and the Great Western Highway to the west of Mount Victoria.
They could do a cut and cover into the side of the Grose with limited impact as they do in Switzerland and elsewhere
Will it happen? Probably never.
It is ludicrous that the Great Western Highway can never be widened because of the convict walls on Victoria Pass, and that the road goes through every small town following Blackland, Lawson and Wentworth's original route.
The economic benefit to the Central West would be immense.
Maybe they intend to Go from Katooma along the ridge and down along "Spanish Steps" area. This is only a cheapo stop gap.
Regards Philip A

[Bushwanderer]

Sorry Redback , but the condition of the Great Western Hwy from (Mt Victoria?) to Lithgow is the reason for their investigation. ;)

[Bushwanderer]

Hi PhilipA,
I hope that you're joking, :)but suspect that you're not:eek:. Please tell me that I'm wrong. :mad:

[barney]

these guys are kidding themselves, like building the harbour tunnel with only 2 lanes each way, lacks foresight, but what do you expect from a bunch of di ckheads.
there's only one answer to open up the west, and that's to build an elevated dual carriageway, six lanes each way, straight from the western distributor to dubbo, then reduce it to four lanes each way to the border.
no more of this stuffing around. if they do this now, they will go down in history as the people that had the guts to go forward, move ahead!
they will be hailed as pioneers and heroes like the people that got the snowy scheme off the ground.
you expect a few whingers to complain about the road noise through their leafy suburbs, but it's time to face reality, we live in the biggest city in Australia, it's going to be noisey, live with it or move out, we need the room anyway.

[leyland]

For those of us in and around Sydney who use this country for 4wd fun this proposal could be interesting to follow:

RTA to investigate Newnes Plateau highway alternative - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/18/2307483.htm)
why is it that they can bulldoze virgin bushland and us 4wdrivers are not even allowed to break a blade of grass.from leyland

[Xavie]

these guys are kidding themselves, like building the harbour tunnel with only 2 lanes each way, lacks foresight, but what do you expect from a bunch of di ckheads.
there's only one answer to open up the west, and that's to build an elevated dual carriageway, six lanes each way, straight from the western distributor to dubbo, then reduce it to four lanes each way to the border.
no more of this stuffing around. if they do this now, they will go down in history as the people that had the guts to go forward, move ahead!
.

OR stuff roads and deal with public transport even. I have almost stopped driving due to cost and would appreciate some decent public transport. If I wanted I could afford it but I choose not too. The future is not in upgrading roads, only maintaing. As long as they make some good public transport.

[lewy]

having worked in the area and having been told a version of the history,the original plan for the road was to turn right at what is known as newnes junction on the bells road and descend from the blue mountains plateau near the blackfellows hands which is near the top of the Wolgan valley,if you look at a topo map of the area you will notice the ridge between the two is at an even grade.and the drop down through Blackfellows hands is piddling compared to mt victoria pass and the bells line this was aparently the prefered route west.however politics of the time came into play and the route was changed to pass through Lithgow.I agree that to bulldoze the bush in this area will be a crime the area should be left as is.

[Slunnie]

Hmmm, that'll make the 4WDing around zigzig a walking the park.... at 100km/h.

[303gunner]

This is just more hot air from the Pollies to create the impression that they're doing something about the mess this state is in, without actually doing anything.

As you might recall during the Federal Election, there was a fierce bidding war between one side who wanted to commit $20mil to a study for the Bells Rd superhighway (a study only, not build it) and they were prepared to put up half the money if the broke and financially strangled State would put up the other half (which it knew it couldn't), and the other side who said that the study was a waste of money that could be better used funding blackspots on the GWH. Well, the "Other side" won, and the Fed member for the Mountains promised a $2mil study (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/downloads/greatwesternhighway/mtvictoria_lithgow_cu_0508.pdf) (hey, what happened to fixing the blackspots, eh?) between Mt Vic and Bowenfels. At the first of the public meetings to discuss the study, he was publicly embarrassed by a pollie from the Nationals (http://lithgow.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/bell-option-touted-at-hartley/792636.aspx), who wanted to divert the study to consider portions of the originals Bells Highway proposal! To save embarassment and be seen "Doing something", the study will now receive more funding to consider the aspects of the original proposal that they fought against at the Election!

Not one of these proposals has suggested actually building the roads in question, just to spend money on investigating possible routes. The route suggested by the Bells Highway group was actually surveyed in 1863 as the original, easiest route for the Railway before the Zig Zag was built nearer to coal interests in the Lithgow valley. Why spend $20mil of our money to consider a route, when they can just pull out the 1863 survey? Because a Newnes Plateau Freeway would see the unthinkable happening with 4wd'ers and trailbike enthusiasts uniting with radical green groups to protest it.

As it is, why waste our breath? The need for the bypass has been based on future traffic modelling brought to you by the number crunchers that found the Cross City tunnel (http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=22417&vf=1) and Lane Cove Tunnel (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/16/2304907.htm'section=justin) would create sufficient traffic to make them financially viable.
Quote: "Statistics reveal that on average some 14,000 vehicles a day travel this length of highway and of these about 2100 are heavy transport vehicles. Traffic movement on the section between Mt Victoria and Lithgow is tipped to increase to 20,000 by the year 2125 as part of a general increase of three per cent a year between Sydney and the Central West."
Will traffic increase by 50% over the next 15 years, during a time when petrol has been predicted to rise to $8 a litre? Lithgow City Council has found that traffic has already FALLEN 8% since this time last year. Stop wasting millions of our tax dollars.

[Slunnie]

$8/litre!:eek: